Hospitality Is a Changing Market

Hospitality and gaming are markets well worth watching for security and life-safety systems installers and industry professionals. Hotel owners and security departments, faced with ever-increasing security demands, need to know what developments—some of them amazing—are being made in this sector. Contractors and installers need to keep up with the latest equipment available. The capabilities are changing rapidly, and the ability to deliver state-of-the-art systems to your customers will give installers a leg up.

Some security systems have become incredibly sophisticated. The “next-generation” hotel room-access card will become a key to the entire facility, a kind of credit card that allows guests to buy a drink at the bar or purchase a trinket in the gift shop. Next-generation lock systems tied to HVAC, for instance, can reach an even higher technological plane. These systems can monitor a room and adjust the heat and air conditioning when a guest leaves or before he or she checks in. The bottom line is energy cost-savings for the owner. To get a look at what hotel security will look like tomorrow—and today, see Curt Harler’s “A Lock on Hotel Security” on page 14.

A fire is a hotel or casino operator’s worst nightmare. One such calamity, at Las Vegas’s MGM Grand Hotel in 1980, killed 87 people and injured 679 more but also changed the way the industry dealt with fire control. The National Fire Protection Association helped to revamp codes, making automatic fire sprinklers and fire alarm/communications systems mandatory. Most casinos now have a fire-protection staff. Installing and updating these systems in a 24/7 environment is challenging. Read all about it Wayne Moore’s piece, “Casino Protection—Not a Roll of the Dice!” on page 22 to get an idea of how it’s done.

Everyone wants to feel safe and secure when they check into a hotel—their home away from home for a day or a week. Security and life-safety contractors are making that happen with the help of concerned owners.